LTFRB Says There Aren’t That Many Uber and Grab Riders

(SPOT.ph) Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board member Aileen Lizada reiterated in a meeting with transport groups on July 26 that the "government will not budge." This is amid the agency's crackdown on Transport Network companies like Grab and Uber, two ride-sharing services in the Metro that were slapped with a P5 million fine for supposedly allowing unaccredited drivers to operate.

Metro Manila commuters have been very vocal in questioning the office's decision. Some are saying that it's the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)'s fault that the drivers didn't have official permits since the agency put all applications on hold in July 2016. A lawmaker argues that "there is no law that gives the LTFRB any authority to regulate or penalize Uber or Grab" since they're not public utility companies. Others have turned to online petitions, tweets, and even memes to assert just how big a help these services are.

it's like saying individuals who pay income tax shouldn't whine about deductions coz they're not the majority (yes, guys we ARE a minority)

To this, Lizada pointed out that the Uber and Grab riders are a minority. "We have 21.5 million trips a day [for] Metro Manila and neighboring provinces. Uber and Grab, they have 150 [thousand] trips a day, meaning 300,000, meaning 2% of 21.5 million. Sila lang ho 'yung maingay sa social media, definitely government will not budge, we will not be allowed or influenced because of social media," she told the press and transport groups.